Mare di Moda 2025: Beachwear as a laboratory for textile innovation

In Cannes, Mare di Moda confirms that trade fairs are no longer passive venues simply attracting onlookers, but dynamic platforms for action. Here, beachwear is driving an industrial transformation where technology, sustainability and design converge.

What is the purpose of trade fairs today?

Conversations in the corridors of Mare di Moda 2025 confirmed a prevailing thesis: the era of attending simply to “see” trends or request samples is over. In Cannes, from October 22 to 24, professionals from the textile and beachwear sectors came to forge alliances, sign contracts and co-develop solutions.

“Brands are no longer content with inspiration; they want solutions,” summarised Umberto Amato, a textile communications consultant. “An exhibitor can now create a complete collection for you, from the thread to the marketing narrative.”

With nearly 110 exhibitors from over 20 countries, including around 15 specialising in business-to-business (B2B) sourcing and manufacturing, Mare di Moda positions itself as a Euro-Mediterranean hub for intelligent textiles. The objective among Italian, French and Dutch players is clear and openly stated: to protect the European supply chain while making it more agile and competitive.

Beachwear: a small sector with great vitality

Long considered a niche segment, beachwear is now emerging as one of the most dynamic laboratories for textile innovation.

Why? The reason is that it addresses all contemporary material constraints: UV and chlorine resistance; quick-drying properties; comfort; aesthetics; and now, circularity. Paradoxically, beachwear, once criticised for its high elastomeric content, is now at the forefront of sustainable solutions.

Through continuous innovation, these ultra-technical fabrics are now finding applications in sportswear, yoga, travelwear and leisurewear, blurring the lines between performance and style.

“It’s a magical fabric,” Amato smiled. “Cotton and wool see little innovation. Here, every season brings a technical advancement.”

Ultimately, this versatility may reflect a broader shift in mindset, where fashion is being overtaken by its own velocity. Unable to keep pace with production, the industry is reinventing itself around sustainability, functionality and purpose.

Biodegradability and digital passport: long-term imperatives

This technical demand has become the spearhead of the European sector, which Mare di Moda works to protect, favouring a mid-to-high-end market position.

This dynamism is coupled with the ‘Travel Wear’ trend: intelligent, ready-to-wear garments that resist creasing, embodying the concept of ‘Fashion and Function’. Brands, from specialists to luxury houses like Fendi, Loro Piana and Cucinelli, are integrating this duality. They are responding to a new priority among young consumers who favour experiences over possessions, prioritising travel over high fashion.

The two main trends revealed at the trade fair are:

• Biodegradability: The sector now offers fabrics that, when discarded in the environment, break down in two or three years, with the goal of reaching a one-year threshold within five years.

• Textile-to-Textile: New machines can separate elastomeric fibres from jersey, paving the way for the complete recycling of swimwear.

This transformation echoes regulatory developments. The implementation of the Digital Product Passport and European laws, such as the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), is seen as a catalyst for redefining the concept of quality.

“The Digital Product Passport will be very important for fashion in general. [...] One can pay 3,000 euros for a shirt, but it must be of high quality. Otherwise, customers will spend their money elsewhere,” insisted Amato.

According to him, it is time for a change in mindset: valuing the durability and longevity of a quality garment over a quantity of mediocre ones. The future will also depend on creating collection and recycling hubs in Europe, similar to those already existing for glass and aluminium.

Lycra, Carvico, Arena: collaboration as the new norm

During the panel discussion “From fibre to sustainable swimwear: a blueprint for collaboration,” Lycra, Carvico and Arena shared a common conviction: “Sustainability is no longer about claims, but about proof.”

Alistair Williamson, vice-president of apparel for EMEA and South Asia at The Lycra Company, insisted: “Without our clients, our company goes nowhere. We co-develop and fine-tune solutions together.”

The group presented its bio-based innovations, such as Qira, an elastomer derived from corn-based BDO, which is USDA certified and produced in Singapore. Williamson acknowledged it is a costly approach but an essential one: “Bio-derived materials are more expensive, but we must follow this path. It is the price of responsibility.”

For Carvico, sustainability is no longer a marketing tool but “the logical conclusion of a long-standing journey,” while Arena noted that even in the performance segment, consumers now demand proof, not just promises.

A trade fair mirroring an innovative sector

Balancing technical innovations, environmental consciousness and new industrial collaborations, Mare di Moda 2025 serves as a barometer for the European textile industry.

The sector is redefining itself at the intersection of luxury, performance and proof.

On the thorny issue of price, at a time when, as Amato noted, “even big spenders who once spent freely now demand quality,” Williamson replied: “Price is only an issue in the absence of value.”

Lycra is adapting by targeting new segments such as workwear and suiting, which are now incorporating stretch for the first time. Launches like Lycra Adaptive, which expands a garment's range of motion, and the bio-based innovation Qira, derived from corn, illustrate the company's strategy.

Regarding proof, Carvico and Arena discussed the complex certification process, from the corn grown for the BDO used by Lycra to the finished product.

The real regulatory challenge? Although the EPR entails a cost for the industry, Williamson is a strong supporter of the initiative, seeing it as a way to encourage a rethink of production. The difficulty, however, lies in achieving European harmonisation and establishing industrial-scale recycling capacity.

For Lycra, collaboration is key. It translates into constant co-development with brands and manufacturers, ensuring their brand remains synonymous with quality. The industry can reverse the trend by making garments last longer, increasing their comfort and enhancing the customer experience, as with the promise that “Coolmax makes you feel cool and dry”.

At the conclusion of the event, it seems it is no longer fashion that inspires technology, but technology that is redefining fashion. In Cannes this year, elegance appeared to go hand-in-hand with high standards.

FashionUnited was invited to the Mare di Moda trade fair.

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